Genocide Class "Skypes" Classroom Guests

Now in its sixth year, Ken Clark`s curriculum for his Genocide course is, like any good curriculum, constantly evolving. He keeps what works, like role playing activities that attempt to recreate 20th century dilemmas and "culture presentation" that enable greater accessibility to and understanding of the groups of people studied in each unit - but he`s constantly on the lookout for new strategies and methodologies. People themselves comprise a significant part of his curriculum, for it is often their stories that bring the material alive and make it relevant for students. Past visitors to Mr. Clark`s classroom includ children of Armenian Genocide survivors, a Holocaust survivor, Cambodian and Rwandan genocide survivors, a former soldier in the Yugoslav People`s Army, and local relief workers, some from our own Hawken community. Recently, Mr. Clark has broadened his potential "guest" list through an internet software program called Skype, which enables students to communicate virtually with people around the globe. Drawing on her contacts from her previous work with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in East Africa and the Balkans, Director of Community partnerships and Service Learning Sara Mierke `84 connected Mr. Clark with relief workers from the U.S. and abroad. Just last week, the class "skyped" Nathalie Piraino, a Rwandan who lost over 100 family members in the genocide in 1994. (She was spared because at the time she was studying in the U.S.) Ms. Piraino has done relief work for CRS in Rwanda and now is employed at their headquarters in Baltimore. She agreed to speak with the class because she believes that "young people are open to learn and make a difference in our world." Earlier in the semester the class "skyped" Diana Blakaj-Demaj, Operations Manager for CRS in Pristina, Kosovo. Her family escaped the genocide in 1999 and found their way to Macedonia, where Ms. Blakaj-Demaj worked in a refugee camp; she has been working for CRS ever since. Mr. Clark illustrates how teachers employ newer technologies to promote a deeper understanding and establish global connections. "Sometimes our topics are almost too shocking to believe or to understand," he says. "Talking to someone who lived through genocide, in some ways, helps the students process something so horrific.